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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — not warm
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — an illness
  8. key — the most important part
  9. can — a tin
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. can — a tin
  12. pit — in a race
  13. can — to be able to
  14. content — happy
  15. spring — the season
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spring — of water
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pit — a hole
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. spring — a coil
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com